Melting at both poles traced to warming

April 18, 2006

For centuries, people saw the North and South poles as frigid and alien lands beyond human reach. While the poles remain at the ends of the Earth, researchers now make regular journeys to the Arctic and Antarctic to meet the people who live there and monitor the extreme temperatures. What they have observed: The poles are melting. In fact, they are experiencing the most rapid environmental change in years because of a phenomenon called global warming. For the past 150 years, humans have been using fossil fuels, including coal and oil, to power their lives, from the lights in their homes to their cars, trucks and planes. Burning fossil fuels spews carbon dioxide, a "greenhouse gas," into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases get their name because they trap heat, keeping Earth warm in much the same way a greenhouse keeps plants warm. According to researchers at NASA, the nation's space agency, 2005 was the hottest year on record. As a result, even the coldest places on Earth are getting warmer. Average temperatures in the Arctic, the northernmost region of the globe, have increased as much as 8 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970s. Dragonflies and robins have started appearing there. (The Inuits, or Eskimos, who live in the Arctic don't even have a word for robin in their language.) It's getting warmer on the other end of Earth as well: Since 1945 the average temperature of the Antarctic Peninsula has increased by about 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit. In March, researchers announced that Antarctica is losing ice as temperatures rise there. This is a major problem because the melting ice at the two poles could cause the world's sea level to rise dramatically. In several hundred years, parts of Florida, Louisiana and even New York City could be under water. The warming also is affecting animal populations: The number of Adelie penguins in the Antarctic has shrunk by a third in the past 25 years. Climate change may seem like a huge problem, but there are things everyone can do. Environmentalists encourage people to take practical steps to cut the amount of carbon dioxide they generate. Two examples: Walk, don't drive, to nearby places; and turn off lights when you leave a room. The group Environmental Defense has devised a "low-carbon diet." To find out more, you can go to www.fightglobalwarming.com and click on "What You Can Do." KID APPEAL THE WASHINGTON POST